MUSIC; Philharmonic And the Man Who Got Away

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: May 18, 2008

TALK about stepping all over your own message.

Soon after the Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced this month that the Italian maestro Riccardo Muti would become its next music director in 2010, members of the New York Philharmonic went public with their wounded feelings, wondering how Mr. Muti could jilt them for Chicago. The Philharmonic has had a close association with him, and the musicians play splendidly for him.

But what happened to all the excitement at the Philharmonic over the appointment of Alan Gilbert as its music director, starting in 2009? Mr. Gilbert, 41, a New York native and the son of a violinist and a former violinist in the orchestra, was ''the right thing for the orchestra at this time in this city,'' Paul B. Guenther, the Philharmonic's chairman, said in making the announcement last July. Zarin Mehta, the Philharmonic's president, vouched in his statements for Mr. Gilbert's accomplishments and skills, calling them above reproach. What's more, Mr. Mehta added, Mr. Gilbert will bring other crucial qualities to the job, including fresh ideas, energy, the ability to communicate and ''that indefinable leadership quality that you look for.''

But after the recent news from Chicago, miffed Philharmonic players wrung their hands and stumbled over one another in expressing regrets. ''It's like somebody going out with your best friend and marrying them,'' one said. ''I don't know what Chicago has that we don't have,'' said another, who worried that the Philharmonic's wooing of Mr. Muti had not been ardent enough.

It was left to Mr. Mehta to shift into damage-control mode and reaffirm the Philharmonic's utter faith in Mr. Gilbert. ''We just see an extraordinary future with Alan,'' Mr. Mehta said. ''The orchestra and I are absolutely convinced that this is not only the right thing, but a brilliant move.''

The Philharmonic twice courted Mr. Muti to be music director, in 2000 and again when it was searching for Lorin Maazel's successor. Twice he turned it down, though he agreed to become its principal guest conductor in all but name. With the Chicago appointment he may have to scale back that commitment.

It is not hard to imagine why, after declaring himself uninterested in taking on another American orchestra directorship, Mr. Muti decided to go to Chicago, where the players clearly revere him. The orchestra dominates the musical scene there in a way that the Philharmonic cannot in New York, since the great orchestras of the world come here to perform almost every week.

Mr. Muti acknowledges that American orchestras face challenges that must be confronted through creative outreach and educational efforts. Though initially reluctant to take on those responsibilities, he says he now looks forward to enticing new audiences to the Chicago Symphony. Whether he has any affinity for this work remains a question.

Still, the Chicago Symphony has particular needs right now that Mr. Muti may well satisfy. During 15 years as music director Daniel Barenboim brought both unquestionable gifts and exasperating qualities to his work in Chicago. His performances were sometimes transcendent, sometimes inscrutable. He had passionate but narrow interests in contemporary music, notably the works of Elliott Carter and Pierre Boulez. And he disdained cultivating financial benefactors. That Mr. Muti, a brilliant technician whose performances are models of lucid thinking and cool excitement, will now take over has to be a refreshing prospect for the players.

The New York Philharmonic, on the other hand, was overdue for a shake-up. During his 11-year directorship, Kurt Masur, a musician of great rectitude with a strict Teutonic rehearsal regimen, was unable to foster associations with living American composers and had no real gift for attracting young audiences. And Mr. Maazel, for all his immense skills, has been rather clueless as a programmer and has had negligible impact as a cultural leader in New York. It was almost poignant to see him relishing the controversy he stirred by taking the Philharmonic to North Korea. Finally he and his musicians were grabbing headlines, doing something risky and important that galvanized the news media.

Mr. Gilbert has excelled on the Philharmonic podium. In a recent program he demonstrated equal command conducting the premiere of a fitful symphony by the American composer Marc Neikrug and an exhilarating account of Strauss's ''Heldenleben.'' A natural communicator, he should be able to connect easily with young audiences and energize the atmosphere at the Philharmonic, much as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Michael Tilson Thomas have done in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Some Chicago critics are gloating that their city is now the envy of the orchestra world. Hmm. Los Angeles music lovers are excited that Gustavo Dudamel is taking over their Philharmonic.

And Mr. Muti would have been all wrong for New York. I, for one, could not be more hopeful about Mr. Gilbert's potential. But I thought that the Philharmonic players all would have shared my enthusiasm.

PHOTO: Riccardo Muti, who will be the next music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, putting his ties to the New York Philharmonic in question. (PHOTOGRAPH BY HIROYUKI ITO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)